India v Pakistan | Seniors can't be singled out for India loss, claims Sarfaraz Ahmed

06/17/2019

Sarfaraz Ahmed refused the lay the loss against India solely at the feer of the senior players, who failed to turn up for the big game, in the Pakistan team. After a forgettable display against India, fingers were pointed at their senior players, Mohammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

Speaking after yesterday’s loss, captain Sarfaraz was bombarded with questions about their two veteran players, Hafeez and Malik. Malik is yet to hit double digits in an innings with the bat at this World Cup and his role in the team remains unclear, given that he only bowled one over and scored a first-ball duck against India. The flamboyant Hafeez only scored just nine runs yesterday, throwing his wicket away at a crucial point.

“I don’t think you can talk about only the senior players, I think you have to talk about the whole team. I think the whole team is not performing well in all three departments, not fielding, not bowling, and not batting,” Sarfaraz said during the post-match press conference, reported Reuters.

He also defended the decision to send India in to bat, after winning a good toss, saying that the bowlers had failed to find the right areas. Pakistan were completely outplayed by India in all departments. Only during the 104-run stand between Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam did they look like mounting a challenge to India’s mammoth total. He also admitted that losing Azam in the 24th over triggered a collapse, with Pakistan losing another three wickets in the space of just four overs.

“It definitely is very disappointing. It is hard. We were going really well, especially if you talk about our batting. I thought, when we lost the first wicket, Azam and Fakhar, they made a good partnership,” Sarfaraz said.

"Unfortunately, we lost too many wickets, and that’s why we lost the match.”